


Unexpected Surprises From Unexpected Places (Under Construction)

by ErisVanHelsing



Series: It Takes a Starship to Raise a Child (or two) [1]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Cancer, Cute Kids, Domestic Violence, Family, Forced Pregnancy, Gaila is the awesome Auntie La, Gen, Half-Siblings, I Don't Even Know, I left a short list in the series description, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, JAMMY!, Kid Fic, Please Don't Hate Me, Please contact me for potential trigger warnings, Reconciliation, Things are going to become dark, Uncle Bones, cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-04-17 05:13:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4653681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisVanHelsing/pseuds/ErisVanHelsing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Tiberius Kirk was challenged to join Starfleet and was ready to enjoy space and all of its glory. However, when Christopher Pike calls him into his office one day, things diverge from his original plan.</p><p>(Under construction until further notice)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christopher Pike is Sneaky

**Author's Note:**

> I had started this story several years ago as an attempt at participating in the fandom community. At the time, I was taking a creative writing class and wanted to be able to share my love for the Star Trek reboot with others. However, time got in the way. I started taking more difficult and time-demanding courses and a new job. Between those, marching band, and several clubs I was in, I had overwhelmed myself and stopped writing. I just started college and my roommate and I were discussing our interests. This little story cropped back up in my memory. I reread what I had already written and tried not to cringe; all I thought about was how I could have done better and that it might have been improved if I slowed the pace of the story down. It certainly doesn’t help that my writing style has changed. So here we go, my re-written version of It Takes a Starship to Raise a Child (or two). If you want to see the original version of the story, it’s on fanfiction, but I recommend not doing it for a few chapters, as it will spoil some things. There are a few key changes to the story. For one, I will not be setting a distinct pairing out at the beginning. Originally, this was going to be a McSpirk fic, but I think I will let it flow in whatever direction it happens to take. I will post warnings and update various tags as they crop up, mostly because I have a vague idea of what I’m going to do, but am unsure of the exact details. I will warn you that this fic, while meant to be happy, will take some pretty dark turns. If you have any triggers or concerns, please contact me and I will tell you what I think might happen and will keep you updated on any potential triggering content. This will also be an ongoing series and I will post warnings in different stories when they crop up, so, for the same reasons, please contact me.

Footsteps echoed through the empty pristine hall as James Tiberius Kirk walked towards his sponsor’s office. The white, high ceilings and pseudo-marble floors were better suited for a palace or a ballroom than an office building for a military academy, but, then again, StarFleet had a reputation for pompousness and forced formality for a reason. Trying not to shiver as he felt bureaucracy try to bleed into his pores, Jim paused as he reached the office door of Christopher Pike. Chris had left an alert on his PADD, telling him to “get his ass down to his office ASAP”...which didn’t sound like a good thing. Glancing out of the windows-instead-of-walls overlooking the immaculate campus, Jim tried to guess what Bones was doing. The doctor was probably working at the clinic or rushing to some class that he hardly needed. Regardless, it was better than being summoned like a naughty child by the principal. Of course, as a child, he had hardly came when called, but Chris was special: the father he never had. The thought of doing anything less than impressing the man that challenged him to be something -someone- better was unacceptable.

Of course, then he had to open the door and ask for his day to be disrupted.

“Jim! Sit down, son,” Captain Christopher Pike smiled up from his seated position at the desk. At least he wasn’t frowning, but why had he called him here? “You called, sir?” Jim asked, actually conveying respect with his tone. 

“Nonsense Jim! It wasn’t that kind of call, so here I’m Chris or Pike.”

“With all do respect Chris, what the fuck am I being called in for then? Your message didn’t inspire that kind of attitude.”

“You’ll have to forgive me then,” Pike smirked, “Because I knew that if I told you what was going on, there would be no way I could get you down here.”

“What are you talking about?” Jim asked.

Christopher motioned towards the door at the back of his office that led to the captain’s shoreside lounge. Jim stood and maneuvered around the desk, glancing at his father-figure warily before allowing the door to slide open….. and inside was his mother  
Winona Kirk looked tired. She was wearing worn jeans and a faded blue long-sleeved shirt with sensible gray shoes. Her blonde hair was streaked with silver and pulled back into a short ponytail, but it had lost a lot of its luster that he remembered it having when he was younger and seemed to hang limply around her face. Her skin was aging, wrinkled adding to frown lines and the barest hint of crow’s feet, and she had dark circles under her eyes. He hadn’t seen her in years, but she still looked as beautiful as he remembered.

“Jim!” she exclaimed and rushed up to take him into her arms. He wanted to get her off and demand an explanation, but she felt like even a small push would break her apart. “Mom? Wha-What are you doing here?” he whispered. The term of endearment felt foreign on his tongue.

“Winona, let the boy breath!” Chris admonished and his mother stepped back.

“Jimmy! I’m so glad to see you! And what a handsome man you’ve grown into,” she was smiling and Jim tried not to squirm.

“Mother, I don’t understand why you are here.”

His mother frowned. “Jim, I- I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a great mother to you.” He scoffed and she held a hand up to stop his tirade. “I wasn’t and we both know it well, but when I came back from my last voyage and retired, I was told that you were gone. Had been for two years, so I tried to find you. I had done a lot of thinking and I knew I needed to make it right. You deserve it. But of course, how do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found?”  
Jim knew what she was talking about. When he was fourteen and finishing up his high school classes online, Frank had gotten worse and worse. Finally, he had just left. He finished up his classes online and travelled around Iowa, getting odd jobs here and there. It had just been by change that Jim had ended up in Riverside again. Pike had called it fate, but whatever.

“Then Chris contacted me when he found you, but I was too worried to come immediately. I just wanted to see you again and I hope that you would like to meet me again as well,” she finished and looked at him hopefully. He could crush it, if he wanted, but this was the woman who gave birth to him and maybe things could be better.

“Give me a place and time.”


	2. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeing his mother again isn't quite what Jim expects.

James Tiberius Kirk feared nothing, not even this silly mid-20th century style diner with its rusted doors and off-white and red exterior.

 

Jim did a quick once-over before entering the shabby place. His cocksure smile was permanently etched into to his skull, blonde hair tousled stylishly (he doesn’t primp, regardless of what Bones says), and his leather jacket, jeans, and white T-shirt were all in place. At least Bones wasn’t here to make a snarky comment about eye-liner. He was already about to throw up without his best friend’s help.

 

Nothing better to make you feel nervous than your own mother. Granted he hadn’t seen Winona in fourteen years, so it wasn’t like he knew how to act around her. Breathing deeply, Jim opened the door. 

 

The first thing he noticed was that the interior was actually fairly polished, despite the impression given by the outside. The floors were checkered linoleum tiles and the clean white walls were offset with the red and gold accented booths. A small bar was set up around the kitchen area where various cooks were busy flipping burgers or chatting up customers. The diner wasn’t too crowded, but it did seem busy enough to keep the waitresses and waiters going back and forth in their gold uniforms.

 

The hostess, donned in a simple gray button-up and black slacks, looked up at his arrival and smiled, “Can I get you anything, sir?”

 

Jim smirked back. She was pretty: green eyes, darker skin, make-up well done, and a her light brown ponytail high on her head with a bit of age (but not enough to be creepy, he estimated mid-thirties). “Yeah, I was going to meet someone here, but you-”

 

“He’s with me, Lisa.”

 

“Oh! This is your son, Win?” ‘Lisa’ asked, astonished.

 

Winona faintly smiled back, “Yes, and you were about to be on the receiving end of the famous family charm.”

 

“Good thing that you stepped in when you did then, huh? Sorry, but flyboys aren’t really my type.”

 

Jim didn’t know whether to be more appalled at his mother or Lisa at the moment, but they went on without him.

 

“Your usual table Win?”

 

“Of course. How’s the boyfriend?”

 

“Ewain is fine. It’s taken some getting used to, us living together. I’ve never had someone so blatantly complain about my cleaning except for dad.”

 

The chatted on about how confusing it was to have a blatantly honest partner, pros and cons of telepathy and so on. The Kirks were eventually seated and Jim was left feeling relieved that his mom had intervened, because he didn’t want to deal with Lisa’s betazoid boyfriend now that he had heard about him. He wasn’t typically one to make a judgement on other people’s relationships, but it sounded like if Ewain started communicating a little less bluntly then Lisa would start feeling ready to talk about more sensitive topics. But that was just his opinion. Sure, Betazoids valued honesty, being telepaths, but there was a difference between honesty and rudeness.

 

Both Kirks order a simple burger and fries and, after some convincing from Lisa, milkshakes. When the waitress left, Jim suddenly was aware of the cool air in the dinner and the closeness between him and his mother, who was sitting in the opposite side of the booth.

 

He shifted his gaze from the window to Winona, who was smiling dreamily at him. “What is it?” Jim laughed, not understanding what had gotten the woman who gave birth to him so sentimental.

 

“It’s just hard to believe sometimes; My son is in Starfleet. You’d make a great officer one day Jimmy.”

 

“Not Captain?” he grinned, but his face fell as her smile faltered.

 

“I’m sure you’d make a great Captain,” Winona replied wistfully. The two breathed together in silence until Lisa came from nowhere and dropped two plates and glasses with their orders in front of them. Startled, Jim jumped and jerked his head in her direction. Winona laughed and began heartily slurping her milkshake while he buried his sorrows in greasy fries.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 21:34 before the two exited the diner, and Jim could honestly say that it was one of the best nights of his life. Winona, his mother, had proclaimed very quickly that she had an interest in getting to know him again and remaining in his life, regardless of his feelings on the matter. It wasn’t that he disagreed with her; he had lived so long without his mother’s presence. James Kirk did not know how to act around her.

 

As she got on the public transport bound for Iowa, Jim felt a distinct pain in his chest. On her neck, hidden by her hair, was a bruise. He tried to tell himself that it could be nothing, but his gut screamed against the idea of allowing Winona to leave. “Win?” he called.

 

She glanced back. Jim knew it bothered her that he didn’t call her mom, it felt odd to reciprocate her care when he barely knew her. “Yes, James?”

 

“Do you want to stay in a hotel here tonight? It’s really late.”

 

She stared with wide eyes at him and Jim knew that she suspected the truth. Regardless, she stepped down from the platform, bag in hand, and came back to him. Back to safety. A dark place inside of him wanted her to go, wanted him to ignore his gut. Winona placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. “Sorry Jimmy, but I need to head back. I’d love to stay here with you, but I can’t.”

 

He watched as she left and a pit grew in his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he arrived back at the first-year cadet dorms, James flopped onto his bed and groaned. Leonard McCoy, his roommate, doctor, and best friend, looked over at the prone male attempting to suffocate himself with a pillow. “Rough night?”

 

“Yes and no,” came the reply.

 

Jim pulled his face away from the fluffy smothering danger and stared at his friend, who was staring right back, clearly expecting further explanation.Sighing, he flipped around to face the ceiling, studying the whorls of sealant.

 

“Remember when I told you about my family?”

 

Bones stiffened and his eyes narrowed. Of course, he had remembered. Bones probably couldn’t have forgotten if he had tried; the man had access to all of his private medical records and knew the true meaning behind each visit. “What about it?”

 

“Winona contacted Chris and he had me meet with her.”

 

Leonard started to swear under his breath, but something in Jim’s eyes must’ve stopped. Bones carefully regained his control before motioning his friend to continue. Jim nodded, “It wasn’t actually a bad meeting and I’m glad I did it, but…”

 

“But….”

 

“I think Frank might be hurting her.”

 

“And…?”

 

“And she’s staying with him anyway. I even offered her an out and she didn’t take it!”

 

Bones sighed and moved to sit on the bed next to his best friend. “Jim, it doesn’t work like that. You can’t always just say something and expect people to jump at the opportunity. Winona didn’t know how Frank was treating you and Sam, did she?”

At this, Jim paused to consider what had happened during the visit with his mom and the way she had acted when she realized he had noticed the bruise. “For a long while, I thought she did, but they way she acted tonight… I think maybe she is just now beginning to suspect.”

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised. A lot of people have a hard time believing that those they love could harm others.” Bones was getting that damn look on his face again, the one he got when thinking about his ex-wife. “She’s a grown woman, Jim-”

 

“And my mother!”

 

“And have you even considered that she might have her own reasons for staying? Or that she’s already left him? Or that maybe he’s coerced her somehow?”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the two. Eventually Bones returned to his StarFleet standard desk and slumped down in the chair, working through the last few problems of the night. Jim kicked of his shoes, but otherwise remained staring up at the ceiling, following the patterns the paint created. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep, still in his civvies.


	3. Jammy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jim tries to confront his mother, but his mother answers before he can even ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few more issues being introduced in this chapter and a new character is introduced. I really appreciate all of the kudos I am getting and that I already have two awesome commenters: macywinstar and redford. I should note that part of the reason I made this into a series is because I am taking the prologue and the first chapter of the original story and making it into a separate book (part of the reason that I said not to go and read the original story on FF.net). There's going to be a lot more inbetween and a lot of things that I put into a couple of paragraphs will be a couple of chapters here. Please be patient if it takes a while for us to get to the movie. I want to take a lot longer to establish the family dynamic I build between Winona, Bones, Jim, Blair (originally named Jamie), Gaila, Joanna, and (sort of) Uhura in the original story. I might even throw a couple hints of the other characters of the bridge crew if I feel like it!

He didn’t quite know why, but after the first meeting with his mother, Jim had taken to wearing his cadet uniform when he met with her. For the life of him, he couldn’t place why and Winona always looked twice when she saw him in it. He couldn’t fathom what she was thinking when she saw it… Grief? Pride? Worry? It didn’t matter in the end; the cadet reds gave him comfort for some odd reason and he wasn’t going to stop wearing them just to please the woman who gave birth to him.

The next few meetings were stiff and awkward between. They couldn’t seem to find a topic that both of them were comfortable speaking out. Anything about Jim’s childhood was out of the question and anything after running away was awkward (he really didn’t want his mother knowing about the odd jobs, drinking, stealing, and other things he did). Anything on his mother’s part-be it during his childhood when he was never there, after he left when she was with Frank, or before he was born with George- seemed to be painful for her to talk about and she didn’t say much when he asked. She didn’t want to hear about StarFleet, it made her think of George and her failings, and he didn’t want to hear about Iowa, it made him think of Frank and... other things he would rather not talk about with his mother. His love life was brought up once and Jim made a simple joke about not having one. All he got from Winona was a quirked eyebrow and an incredulous look.

So they were at a standstill, awkwardly discussing current events while speaking around their personal lives and not catching up much. Luckily, Lisa was there to give them something to talk about on occasion.  
Every week they would meet, his mom sporting a new hidden bruise or two and he stiff in his cadet reds, and talk about nothing. It probably wasn’t exactly what Chris had in mind when he brought them together. Of course, every week Jim went back to the dorm room he shared with Bones and shared all he felt during the exhausting time with his mother. The mixture of bitterness, anger, worry, guilt, grief, and helplessness he felt whenever he and Winona talked refused to go away and Bones helped him rationalize that.

“It’s not like she ever hit me! She didn’t even know what was going on!”

“I know that, Jim, but the mind isn’t rational. You have always associated your mother with Frank and that’s not going to change just because you’re talking now. You don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

“I just… I feel so fucking angry and we can’t talk about anything and so we just say whatever shit pops into our heads!” Leonard frowned as his best friend went on and on about his own failings and his mother’s failings.

“Damnit Jim! You’re not a robot! You can’t shove in information and process it to its proper place or put it on hold until you thinks it’s a good time.”

It became abruptly quiet in the room. “I’ve done it before,” James whispered and Leonard sighed.

“Those were very different circumstances.” A pause. “Look, you’re going to have to confront her soon and don’t look at me like you weren’t trying to avoid doing that. How ‘bout next time I come with you? That way I can bring it up and it won’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

Jim stared up at his friend from where he had laid down on the bed. “She’s going to see right through that.”

“She’s a Kirk, of course she will. But, she won’t be able to push it aside.” With that, Bones turned off the light and the two plotted the next meeting with his mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim Kirk woke up bright and early Saturday morning instead of sleeping in late like usual. He had tried, but found that his worry about his meeting with Winona refused to let him fall under. He showered twice, dried his hair instead of letting it dry and tamed it so it only looked mildly wild. He even went so far as to iron and take the lint roller to his Reds. Finally after polishing his shoes and cleaning everything in sight, Jim was dressed and no better off than he was earlier that day. Leonard chose that moment to walk in from his morning working at the free clinic just off campus. The older man took one look at the oddly tidy room and raised an eyebrow quizzically at his friend. Jim scowled, “I was just antsy okay? This isn’t going to happen again.” The doctor didn’t say a word and just turned to lay his bag on the bed. He changed out of his scrubs and into casual wear before steering the younger man out of the door to the nearest transit station.

They never got to go through with their plan.

They had already sent a message sometime during the middle of the week that Jim would be bring his friend along, so his mother only looked mildly surprised at the southern-fried doctor. “Win, this is Leonard McCoy. Bones, this is my mother,” Jim tersely introduced. The two shook hands, somewhat awkwardly and then Winona turned to look at Jim. “Something came up, so I’m doing something a little sooner than I had planned, but I’m sure you’ll take it in stride,” she replied, leaving her son feeling confused. Winona gestured for the two men to follow her into the diner.

The diner was deserted that day, with only an occasional soul here and there drinking a milkshake. Jim distantly saw a figure sitting in their usual booth and was about to walk right past it, but Winona stopped and sat on the side with it. “It” happened to be a little girl with slightly tanned skin sitting in her denim overalls with a purple shirt that had mustard stains on it. She glanced up at him and, beneath the blonde curls, a pair of big blue eyes stared up at him. Her freckle dusted nose scrunched up and, as she clutched a dirty stuffed bunny with overly long ears, she said, “Mommy who’s this?”

Winona smiled at the shocked look on his face. “Blair, honey, this is one of your big brothers.”

“Sammy or Jammy?”

“Jim, honey.”

“Jammy!” she shouted, smiling brightly up at him. There was a gap in her bottom front teeth he noted.

“Sweet, it’s Jim.”

“Jam!”

Winona smiled tiredly and motioned for the two men to join them at the table. “Sit down Jim, we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Bones, bless him, offered to take the source of the big blues to get another milkshake and something to color on while the two Kirks talked.

“Win! I don’t understand!”

And that’s when she finally explained. How when she returned she felt so angry that Jim was gone, but was more worried than anything. How she searched for him. How Frank got drunk and the fights they had. How it all came crashing down one night and she ended up pregnant. She explained her remorse, regret, pain, sorrow, and her hope for atonement and the third child it granted her. Trying to get on her feet and care for Blair (her name was Blair, he needed to remember that). Trying to protect her from her father. How grateful she was for the fact that Blair looked nothing like Frank and all like Winona.

After it was over, Jim felt extremely grateful and extremely sad. He glanced over to where the little girl was giggling at something Bones was saying and patting his face and hoped she would never know this story. He prayed that she wouldn’t have the childhood that he did.

“Jim,” Winona called his attention back to her. “I need you to take care of her for the weekend.”

He looked back at Winona, his mother. She looked so tired. “Mom, what’s going on?”

She looked down. “I’ve been in a lot of pain lately and had some trouble at work so...I went to the doctor’s. They said I have lung cancer.”

“They have the stuff to fix that, you don’t have to-“

“It’s too far along Jim.”

He gently reached out and touched her shoulder. “How long?”

“It should be a little while: years maybe? But, in the event of my death, I’m trying to get custody handed over to you. Not Frank,” he had never seen her look more determined.

“I understand. Does Chris know about this?”

“No. Not yet.” She suddenly looked desperate, “Jim, she has nowhere else to go! Sam won’t have anything to do with the family and ignored any calls I made. I can’t track him down because he’s on another planet entirely. I know you’re in StarFleet and you have your whole life ahead of you, but I can’t leave her to the mercy of Frank. I can’t-“

He watched as his mother burst into tears. “I can’t do that to another child.”

“Mom… you didn’t know,” and she hadn’t.

“But you still had to go through all of that! If I had been there-“

“What’s done is done. For now, we will do what we can to help Blair.”

“Thank you Jim,” Winona said, wiping her eyes while still trying to stifle tears.

“No problem, Mom.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bones approached when Jim waved him over, little girl in tow. Winona pulled him aside to explain the situation now that she had composed herself.

“Hey Blair!”

She suddenly seemed shy and clutched the stuffed bunny closer to her chest, almost like she was trying to cover her face without making it too obvious. Jim sat down on the floor of the diner. Lisa smiled from behind the counter and gave him two thumbs up. He leaned forward and deliberately made his voice light as he introduced himself to his half-sister. “That a pretty bunny you’ve got there. Does he have a name?”

She clutched the bunny and looked down at him like she was trying to figure something out. All of the sudden she placed her hand on the top of his head and giggled, “You’re pretty Jammy.”

He laughed and asked, “You’re going to insist on calling me that, aren’t you?”

Blair shook as she giggled and nodded her head. “I’m six, how old are you?”

“Not six.”

“That didn’t answer my question!”  
“Yes it did!” The little girl stuck out her tongue before smiling broadly and declaring to the entire diner that she and Mr. Fluffles liked Jammy and continued to pat his hair.


	4. Kids are High Maintenance Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I felt I needed to say this. I had to stop in the middle of writing this chapter and then I went back and reread the last chapter and realized some of what was said made it feel like Jim was forgiving his mother. He hasn't. When I was writing, I was channeling a lot of my own reactions when someone has wronged me and then they break down crying in front of you pleading for forgiveness thinking they won't get it. Personally, I believe Jim was struck by the vulnerability Winona was showing and didn't really know how to react. He also hasn't forgiven her here either. Sometimes, you can acknowledge that a person is not at fault for something (and Winona isn't to blame for the abuse I feel, but is for her failed relationship with her son), but still feel like it is. I tried to establish that in an earlier chapter, but it still applies here. Jim is just a little too busy to dwell on it in this chapter.
> 
> Now, I'll admit this chapter felt a little more rushed than I would like it, but I'm trying to get some stuff out there before the school week starts. This will be a three part sequence of our first week with Blair.  
> I will also admit that I shamelessly love the idea of Gaila. Feel free to give me feedback, but try not to make it "I hate this story *mic drop*,". I don't want to do a disservice to you guys. Also, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. College is difficult (apparently).
> 
> Finally: Does anyone know any civilian transport in the Star Trek series? I've been looking it up, but can't find anything.

When his mother handed him a bag full of clothes, toys, and snacks, Jim got the sudden feeling that this was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought. This feeling only got much much worse when Winona was saying goodbye to Blair and Blair started crying (screaming really) for her. Bones ended up being the one comforting her, gently patting her hair and whispering soothing things while Jim stood there looking helpless because goddamnit he didn’t know the first thing about kids.

“Um... Bones?” he asked the southern doctor who was currently cradling a mumbling little girl in his arms and rock her back and forth. The doctor glared at him and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like it involved the words “Jammy”, “silly”, and “pouty-face”. God, he was really out of his depth. The two returned to the dorm and Bones set up a play area for Blair who eagerly dumped everything into the floor and moving things into piles. Bones locked to the door and motioned for Jim to accompany him to the bathroom that joined their suite to the neighbors. They didn’t have any clue who they lived next door to despite sharing a bathroom with them. Sometimes they didn’t hear any peep for days, but of course afterwards some unfortunate noises could be heard. The neighbors were close. Absently, Jim wondered if he should introduce himself to the neighbors and let them know when Blair was going to be there, just in case.

“Jim! You don’t know how to care for kids, do you?”

This brought him out of his stupor and he rolled his eyes, “Well it’s not like I got a very good example.” McCoy pinched his nose and sighed before grabbing a piece of paper and pen and began writing. “What’re you doing?”

“I am making a list of things you will need to get to make anywhere you live child-friendly.” Jim raised his eyebrows (because he couldn’t raise just one but it still was a pretty good indicator of his feelings). A loud banging noise came from the room and Jim dashed back in. Blair was looking up at him with wide eyes and he edged around her and moved to the door. He carefully opened it, but it was thrown back all the way and a short Orion hugged him too tightly around the middle. Gaila took about a five second hug before Blair asked, “Who is that? Why is she green?” and then she quickly moved towards the little girl. He would never admit to almost saying ‘God Blair! You can’t just ask people why they’re green!’, mostly because he didn’t want Bones to know his secret love for really old vids (a little because the reference would be lost on Bones and Blair).

“Well who are we?” Gaila cooed.

“‘M Blair. And this is Jammy and Uncle Bones.” Behind the little girl’s head, Leonard scowled at Jim and pointed his finger accusingly.

“My name is Gaila and I’m a friend of Jammy and Uncle Bones,” replied the Orion, grin threatening to split her face in half. After about five minutes of talking about why Gaila was green, Blair declared that green and blue were now her favorite colors and that Gaila was now “Auntie La”. Gaila was, of course, thrilled that she had been accepted by the sweet little girl. The next two hours primarily involved Gaila and Blair playing with stuffed animals, reading books, and braiding hair with Jim staring at the pair in confusion. Bones went out shopping for some food that they found out from a note from Winona that Blair liked. ‘Jammy’ was on babysitting duty; his only job was to make sure that neither of them broke anything. Luckily for him, Leonard made it back just before they were about to go for his hair.

The night wore on and Gaila went home, leaving the three of them alone... again. Having someone else there had felt like a buffer between him and his suddenly appearing half-sister. Part of him felt guilty that he was relieved to not have to interact with her. Dinner had been a quick-made mac n’ cheese from one of the resident hall’s replicators and Bones was on Blair-duty when it came to bedtime with Jim as a careful observer. Then came their biggest problem yet… where was she going to sleep?

There dorm room wasn’t big. It was outfitted with two beds and desks, both supported by and made with titanium (because apparently StarFleet had some… issues with some stronger than human cadets in the past). The floor was carpeted in red and had pale cream colored walls. There was a clear divide in the room with a replicator and storage compartment for extraneous food. On either side of the replicator and storage there was an indent where one could store their uniforms, dress uniforms, coats, and nicer civilian outfits. A set of drawers for other civilian wear, underwear, sleep wear, and anything else were set under a mirror and counter. Small storage compartments littered the wall above. There was, however, no room for a little girl. Bones glanced over at Jim and sighed, “We are either going to have to get a cot or you are going to need to apply for family housing.”

“Come one Bones! Who else will deal with your misanthropic ass if I’m gone? If I apply for family housing, you’re coming with.”

“Family housing is for families, Jim.”

“Last time I checked, you were Uncle Bones; that makes you family.”

Bones scowled, “I’m never going to forgive you for getting her to call me that.”

Jim grinned, “You love it and you know it.” Blair came over and grabbed onto Jim’s cadet uniform (which he hadn’t changed out of). “Can I- Can I sleep with you Jammy?”

Jim took one look at those big blues and any protest he had crumbled, “Of course bumblebee!”

McCoy snorted while Blair giggled and reached grasping hands out towards him. Jim picked her up and twirled around a couple of times before setting her on the bed. “One moment while I get into some sleep clothes okay?”

“Jammy gets into jammies!” was his reply. As he collected his clothes and walked into the bathroom, Bones whispered, “At least I don’t have to worry about you two getting along.”

As much as Jim wanted it to be, it wasn’t that simple. Here he was, twenty three and becoming an almost parent. He hadn’t even had a romantic relationship before, he didn’t have the best examples for parental figures (Winona was trying though, and that was all he could ask right now), and now at any time full-time parental responsibility could be thrown on him in the event of Winona’s death. Even that wasn’t given. If they didn’t manage to move the custody around, Blair would go to Frank and that was… unthinkable. He even had a few suspicions why Winona took so long to go to the doctor’s. Cancer wasn’t exactly an untreatable thing nowadays, but if left long enough it could wreak devastation. And just how did Winona manage to get lung cancer of all things? From what he does remember of his childhood, she hated any substance that messed with mental faculties so it’s not like she was smoking. Nobody had had any sort of cancer in his family in generations, the air was much cleaner in farm land Iowa and it’s not like there’s pollution in space (well, there is but not in a spaceship and not air pollution), and his mom didn’t work near uranium. Sure, the warp core in each starship had tons of radiation, but it was sealed off for a reason and the ships maintain a certain distance from any suns to prevent that from happening. Also Winona was primarily a command track and would have absolutely no reason to go down to engineering anyway. So either it just popped up out of nowhere or…. Frank had taken up smoking.

Anger would have welled its way up into his body, but he was just too tired. So much had been thrown on him in the last few hours and the future looked daunting. Absently Jim noted that this was going to make graduating StarFleet in three years a lot more difficult. It also was no help that he felt weird whenever he looked at Blair. He didn't know how to interact with her or what he was supposed to do. Part of him felt relieved that she was here and protective of her while another part felt joy at having another member of the family (one without all of that bad history), and another part felt jealous that she got the life he never had. The jealously left a bad taste in his mouth that was suspiciously similar to guilt. After all, did she really have that much of a better life than he did. Well, yes. She had a mother and a brother who cared, which is more than he did, but there was a really high chance that Frank would, if he hadn't already, start in on her. His nightly routine went on automatically as he worried about the future.

Finally, he entered back in the room and flopped onto his extra-long twin bed. It wasn’t long before Blair crawled up from the end to sleep beside him and snuggled up into his stomach and under his chin. Jim cradled his sister to his chest and tried to hum a song like he had seen mothers on the Holo do. From across the room, Bones was silently laughing and miming taking a picture, so Jim adjusted his grip and flipped his best friend the bird.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning was hell.

Blair had woken up before Jim and began jumping on top of him to wake him up. What a greeting: being jumped on by his six-year-old half-sister with McCoy outright laughing in the background. What happened to kids having trouble waking up in the mornings? He silently thanked whatever deities that be that it was a Sunday and therefore still the weekend. A message was waiting for him on his PADD; Winona was asking if they could manage her until next Saturday, apparently something came up. Jim narrowed his eyes; he had a few ideas what that something was.

Regardless, he called Bones over and they both agreed to take care of the little bundle of energy currently pressing buttons on the replicator to find one for pancakes. After looking through the little girl’s dufflebag, Jim noted that there was enough stuff in there for a week, which, of course, made him suspicious. After sitting down and eating what looked like pancakes but tasted like dry waffles (there is a difference), the two men banded together to try and get Blair to allow them to help her get ready.

Predictably, Bones did all the work.

“How the hell did you manage to get her to do that?” Jim demanded.

“Jim! Not in front of Blair.”

“Oh! Like your mouth couldn’t use some soap!” McCoy rolled his eyes.

“Jim, you seem to forget that I have a daughter. I may not have custody over her, but I do remember a thing or two from her formative years,” the surly doctor reasoned. Finally Blair came out of the bathroom wearing a pink t-shirt and knee-length adorable jean shorts with sandals. She pushed her still slightly curly hair out of her face and made a grab for Leonard. “Uncle Bones? Can you put a bow in my hair? I think mommy packed a pink one with polka dots and it’s pretty!”

“Sure thing hun.”

“No, no! It’s bumblebee! That’s what Jammy calls me!” At this, Bones raised an eyebrow at Jim who merely shrugged. “Okay then Bumblebee!” Bones replied and lifted the girl in his arms making a buzzing noise while Blair giggled and tried to buzz as well. Sometimes, Jim forgets that Bones hates all people… but maybe it’s just adults? He wouldn’t know, he hasn’t seen him around Joanna and Bones doesn’t really talk about her much since he never gets to see her. Seriously, watching his best friend with his half-sister made him smile. It was adorable, but he would never tell Bones that.

The day went by quickly. Jim asked his sister about home, school, her friends, toys… anything really. He had missed the first six years of her life and he didn’t want to miss anymore of it. Blair was fairly giggly and waxed on and on about the weird boy in class who teased her and Sandy Lawrence from the cattle farm a few acres down who played with her on Sundays and Saturdays. There was an interesting story involving a goldfish and a marshmallow that somehow ended in her losing her first tooth that had both men holding their sides. Bones poked fun now and then about how alike they were (even though Jim had some serious doubts about him ever being that enthusiastic as a kid).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaila had arrived just in time to go with them to go shopping. Both Gaila and Bones were thrilled (Gaila because it was shopping, Bones because Jim hated shopping). Bones reasoned that it was necessary in case they ended up taking care of Blair again. Apparently they needed “supplies” to take care of a six-year old girl. It was when they passed by the toy aisle on the way to check out that Jim, once again, realized how ill-equipped he was to take care of a little girl.

By the time it had happened, the had already gotten a couple dresses, shorts, jeans, sleep clothes, T-Shirts, long-sleeved shirts, skirts, shoes, assortments of hair clips, snacks, a twin air mattress, sheets, blankets, pillows, books, plushies, a small toy set, and a book on child nutrition. Then, Blair saw a doll that looked exactly Gaila and proceeded to tell Bones just how important it was that she have the doll. Gaila, of course, was all for it, but Leonard was trying to argue against it in favor of trivial things like space and limited funds. They tried to rope him into the argument, but Jim managed to sidestep it by pretending not to hear them and wander to a different aisle. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had been even remotely this difficult about a toy. Apparently all it took to stop the arguing adults was a pair of big watery blue eyes and a pout from a six-year-old girl. The six-year-old girl was an essential element to the formula, because anytime he had tried a remotely similar look all it had gained was a snort.

They left and upon arriving in the dorm, they explained to Gaila who Blair was and why and how long she was there. Gaila, wonderful beautiful Gaila, listened thoughtfully and took it all in stride. Then, of course, she posed a simple and absolutely awful question. “So… who’s gonna take care of sweet pea while you two are in class?” The roommates turned to each other. Leonard and Jim both had extremely busy schedules, the weekends being the exception. Jim took about 20 credit hours worth of classes and Bones was required to volunteer in the nearby StarFleet hospital 12 hours a week in addition to take 15 hours worth of classes this semester. Both of them would be constantly busy and wouldn’t be able to watch her most of the time. Then, something else occurred to Jim. “Oh crap! What about school?”

Bones startled, “She’s in kindergarten and registered in Iowa…”

“We can’t give her supplementary lessons! We’re not here!”

“And how are her absences going to be excused?”

“What if we-”

“Guys!” Gaila yelled at the pair. “Look, I can take care of her when you two can’t and I have a few friends that will help out. Janice Rand and Christine Chapel both adore kids, so you should be fine. As for schooling, can you get your mom to give you her teachers’ contact information?” Jim nodded. “Good, you can ask for vids of the lessons and worksheets and give the kid a PADD. Before you ask: my roommate has an old one that I can ask for. We can all help with Blair’s assignments.”

The two were frozen for a moment before Jim hugged Gaila. “You are absolutely brilliant!”

“I know. I’m in the Engineering track and not Security for a reason.”


End file.
